


Collateral

by Kiyuuni



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyuuni/pseuds/Kiyuuni
Summary: In a last-ditch effort to appease the great army of The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, the king of Sreng has made a tough decision that alters the life of his eldest daughter. With two individuals of opposing sides stuck in Garreg Mach Monastery, can Sylvain and Nemian co-exist in peace or will they follow their fathers' example of endless war and hatred?
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Blue Lions Students, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Original Character(s), Sylvain Jose Gautier/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Tugging at the collar of her throat, a young woman started to unbutton the top of her shirt. The beginnings of summer were just around the corner and although the heat had yet to reach its peak, she was finding it slightly hard to remain comfortable. One of the soldiers that were traveling alongside her scoffed and mumbled under his breath. "If you were smart, you'd know to take the weather into consideration and not pile on layers." The girl brushed off the snide comment and stopped at the third button allowing the pale skin above her collar bone to show. She sighed a breath of relief. Despite all the walking they had done, the forest did a good job of blocking most of the sun's rays.

The forest around them was peaceful for the most part. The group was fortunate enough to not run into trouble on their weeklong journey. Although, the girl found herself half-hoping that some sort of scuffle would find them. Anything to provide some fun in their mundane journey, anything to distract herself from her inevitable destination.

Days passed and the girl had mentally reached her capacity. She had been traveling with Gautier soldiers for almost a week, and with her being the sole female of the group, she found they had nothing in common. Even if they did have something of similar interest, they weren't interested in her kind anyway. They hated her. Hated who she was, where she came from, and her people. This was no news, however, and she was fine with it. Really.

The history of her people and the people of The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus went way back. Books and lectures would tell tales of the disputes between the two territories. It was a constant back and forth battle with each one invading and defending its lands. Though Faerghus was their enemy, it was mainly one noble house that they often clashed swords with, House Gautier.

House Gautier was, has, and probably will always be a formidable opponent for the Sreng. The people of Sreng were always taught to be fearful of the kingdom to the west. That Faerghus was a place of monsters, people seeking to terrorize and rule anything and anyone in their path. Though their battles with House Gautier were isolated to the north, all of Sreng suffered due to the constant struggles of protecting their lands. One such battle was when the king of Faerghus led his troops to invade Sreng. This particular memory alone left a stinging wound for the girl. Her days were nothing but fear and darkness. Fires, screams, and death filled all aspects of her memories and haunt her to this day. As a result of the invasion, the southern part of Sreng was annexed by Faerghus and so she and her family were forced to move north where her father still had freedom of reign.

Royal blood ran through her veins though only half. Her father, the king of Sreng, had relations with a consort who later died during the invasion of the south. Her father being a benevolent King in her eyes kept her in the royal court even after her mother's death. She grew up content knowing that her father treated her fairly. Her siblings were of another story.

The young lady sighed when thoughts of her siblings came. When they were kids, they got along well enough. Being the eldest daughter of the king, she always doted on her two younger brothers. But when her brothers grew up both physically and mentally, they began to treat her differently. When they realized the origins of her birth and the threat she could possess to their place on the throne, both siblings began to distance themselves. The eldest of the brothers turned to scorn and distaste while the younger simply ignored her, no longer wanting anything to do with her. She put up with it though. Knowing that her father still considered her as family was enough. That is, until just a few moons ago.

When she had learned the reason why her father had abruptly withdrawn her from the academy she fell into shock. Not an ounce in her body could predict her father's decision. She was so blindsided that what was happening did not seem like reality until she was leaving her home a few weeks after the news.

The king of Sreng was backed into a corner. The relationships between the north and south were teetering on the edge. Having to deal with that as well as the constant tension coming from House Gautier had the king at his wit's end. The old man started to become senile, making decisions in hopes of reconnecting with the south that only made it worse. When the head of House Gautier caught wind of her father trying to raise a coup within the south, he was quick to quell the fire resulting in the king of Sreng to make some very life-changing decisions. One of those decisions was to offer collateral to make sure he stayed on his best behavior. That collateral being his eldest child.

The girl was nudged rather aggressively on the shoulder. Her pace was slowing as she retreated into her thoughts. The Gautier soldier grunted behind her and told her to pick up the pace. The forest around them was quite dense with few rays of light shining in from the canopy of trees. Despite it being comfortable warm, the native Sreng clothing she dawned did not allow much air for her body to breathe. Faerghus being next-door neighbors, they shared similar weather conditions, with most of their year covered in cold and snow. The trip to Garreg Mach Monastery, however, was proving to be a bit challenging with them traveling more and more south. The same Gautier soldier saw her tug at the collar of her shirt again. "We're pretty much there once we clear the forest." Whether that was meant to comfort her or the other soldiers it would not matter. As soon as she could rid herself of these men, she could be in Ailell for all she cared.

Another hour or so went by and the space around them shone brighter. The trees were becoming sparse allowing more light to come in. Up ahead she could see a clearing and once they stepped foot outside the tree line, her view was that of a large, fortress-like castle. There, beyond rolling hills, lied her destination, Garreg Mach Monastery.

"We just have to deliver her to the gate, right," one soldier asked. His question sparked a bit of annoyance with the Sreng girl.

"As much as I would like to, we should probably leave her with one of the knights and maybe check in with the Margrave's son."

That's right. Sylvain Gautier. When the Sreng native learned of her fate, she took to it that the youngest son of Margrave Gautier would have reacted to the news none too kindly. They were after all in a constant state of war with one another. He probably hated her just as much as the soldiers around her if not more.

The girl walked into this with indifference after the shock finally wore off. But now that Garreg Mach loomed over her, her nerves were beginning to shake up. How would life at this academy be? How would the people of Fódlan treat her? Would she be a complete outcast like when she spent a few days at the Gautier residence before her departure? Those were the worst days of her life. It was nothing like the solitude she got at home when her brothers didn't talk to her. At House Gautier, she was completely alone. Everyone seemed to avoid her like the plague, and it hurt. Her wounds still fresh from the betrayal of her father.

The girl grabbed onto the leather belt that held the large claymore against her back. It was the only comforting thing she brought from Sreng and she was glad that the Margrave did not force her to leave it. Her claymore served as a part of her being and she treated it like so.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at the gates of Garreg Mach. The massive monastery gave a foreboding feeling that sent chills down her spine. Even on this warm day, the chills shook her core.

"Ah, Sir Alois! It is an honor." The soldiers bowed with their right fists pressed against their chest. The girl looked around but did not budge. In front of them was a man of medium stature. What he lacked in height however was made up in what she assumed was a muscular physique. The armor he worse gave him a robust look. Despite the intimidating spikes protruding from the armor, the man had a kind look to his face. His blue eyes were bright, and he held nothing back in his smile. The girl's first impression of this man was that he was friendly, perhaps more so than the soldiers around her. When they got up, the soldier closest to her sneered when he noticed she didn't do the same. She attempted to give him the same look, but with more sass.

"Hello! Judging by your uniform you are soldiers from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, are you not?" This Sir Alois spoke with a loud boisterous voice. The girl was a bit taken back with how… Excited he seemed.

"Yes, sir. We are here to deliver this woman to the Arche Bishop, but since you are here, perhaps you could show her the way?"

"Oh, uh, I mean, wouldn't it be best if you brought her there yourself? I don't exactly know who she is or why she's here." Alois scratched at his stubbled chin.

"You are not wrong, sir, but it has been days and we are eager to return to the kingdom to resume our services and would like to report to the Margrave as soon as possible," the soldier that had sneered at her said. The girl gave a huff. These guys were quick to get rid of her.

"Margrave? Margrave Gautier?" Alois turned to the young woman and examined her from his spot. She shuffled her feet as the knight stared at her, rubbing at his chin. "With what does the Margrave have business in sending a young lady like her to Garreg Mach Monastery?"

"With all due respect, sir, everything that the Arche Bishop needs to know is in this letter." The soldier that oversaw their group pulled out a rolled piece of parchment with a wax symbol of the House Gautier sealed in bright red. "We were just told to bring her here and that everything else is taken care of. Word was sent ahead of time of our arrival so the Lady Arche Bishop should be expecting her."

"I see. Well then, miss…?"

The girl took a step closer to the knight and held out a hand. "Nemian. Nemian Dé Danann."

There was a pause. The soldiers dropped their jaws in horror and Nemian scrunched her eyebrows not knowing what was going on. She was brought out of her confusion when the loud sounds of laughter came out of Alois. "Ho, ho! It is a pleasure, Nemian." The knight took her hand in his and gave it a firm shake. This brought a smile to the girl's face. It was the first friendly gesture she had since crossing the border of Sreng. Alois let go of her hand and took the letter from the kingdom soldier. "I'll make sure she and the letter both get to the Lady Arche Bishop. I thank you on her behalf for allowing the young miss safe passage."

"Right," the soldier grunted before giving one last bow. "Men, it's time to finally go home." The soldiers turned away leaving Nemian with a stranger.

"Nemian?" Alois took a sidestep into her view. "Let us get going. I'm sure Lady Rhea is eager to see you." Nemian nodded and followed the knight through the large gates of the monastery.


	2. Chapter 2

"And that was when I looked him dead in the eye—complete silence—one stroke of my blade and he was gone."

"Quite the story, sir."

Alois gave another loud laugh. His voice bouncing off the stone walls. "Ah, and this is the reception hall. This will lead us to the bridge that crosses over to the cathedral. Hopefully, Lady Rhea is there for you to make your introduction." Nemian's eyes went a little wide with her nerves coming back to her. Alois was able to calm her with the story he had been telling her up until now, but the sick feeling was starting to return.

"Sir, about this- about Lady Rhea. What kind of person is she?"

Alois stopped abruptly to turn around with a gasping face. "You don't know of Archbishop Lady Rhea?"

Nemian rubbed her hands together in embarrassment. "I'm not exactly from here." This further caught Alois's attention as he tilted his head in thought.

"Then those Gautier knights…" He paused to take a closer look at the girl and noticed she was purposefully avoiding eye contact. The poor girl looked uncomfortable and Alois was none too happy to place the girl in the situation. "Ah, well it isn't my place. It wouldn't help for me to poke my nose into the Lady Archbishop's business. Speaking of, you will find that Lady Rhea is the most benevolent being in all Fódlan! Her kindness and charitable nature know no bounds! Come, you will see for yourself soon enough." The knight beckoned Nemian to follow him once more. The two walked over to a set of huge double doors. Alois waved a hand and the two soldiers stationed at each side opened it up to allow the two passage. The doors opened up to a stone bridge that stretched quite a ways. As they walked, Nemian was intrigued by the sight of Pegasi flying in the air, their riders maneuvering them with deft skill. The girl had heard stories and seen art of these majestic creatures, but never was she able to lay eyes on one until now. Perhaps coming to Garreg Mach wasn't such a bad thing.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Alois spoke when he saw the fascination on the girl's face. "Please, do watch your step." The two ascended the stairs where another set of ridiculously large doors stood. They groaned loudly as another set of soldiers worked to open them. Nemian wondered how much work it must be to constantly open and close these doors. It would make more sense to leave them open throughout the day, but maybe this Archbishop of theirs was that important.

Alois continued to lead her through a short hall with openings on both right and left. Up ahead were another set of doors that remained open this time, and beyond that the cathedral. The room took Nemian's breath away as she looked up to the ceiling high above. She couldn't believe how massive the church was. Columns that stood from the ground all the way up to beautifully designed arches, rows and rows of benches on both sides and a magnificent altar at the other end. All of it designed in unique architecture with each detail so distinct it would take her moons to observe it all. Aside from the interior design, what caught the girl's eyes most was the woman standing at the other end. The stretch of stained glass on the wall behind her allowed the afternoon sun to shine and illuminate, giving the woman an otherworldly appearance. The green of her hair was shockingly visible from her spot at the opposite end of the cathedral.

"What are you waiting for? Lady Rhea is right there," Alois called to her attention. Nemian blinked and shook her head.

"Y-Yes, of course." The two approached the Archbishop and as they got closer Nemian could see the small smile that adorned her face. Alois didn't have to tell her that the Archbishop was kind. One look at the woman could tell her that. And yet, there was something about her that Nemian couldn't put her finger on. The Archbishop stood before her, head held high and shoulders back with an air of confidence and authority. That much was for certain, but what else was there about the Archbishop?

"Alois, I see you have brought a visitor."

"Yes, Lady Rhea," Alois said as he placed his right fist over his chest and bowed. "I believe she is someone you are expecting. Gautier soldiers escorted her here with a letter."

Bright realization shone in Rhea's eyes. "Ah, our new student. How wonderful." She grabbed the parchment offered to her and broke the seal to read its contents.

"I see the new student has arrived." Everyone's head swiveled to a man briskly making his way to them. Like the Archbishop, he had a head full of green hair but of a darker hue. He wore dark blue ceremonial-like clothing that faintly resembled the cloak Lady Rhea had on. Unlike the ethereal woman, the man had a scowl on his face and Nemian was willing to bet that it was a permanent one. He stood next to the Archbishop although slightly behind her in a way that showed his place, Nemian guessed.

Alois turned to Nemian expectantly and the girl rushed to give a respectful bow of her own, although sloppy. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nemian Dé Danann."

"Yes, child. We have been expecting you. Tell me, how was your journey to the monastery?" Nemian coughed and cleared her throat, unsure if she should respond to the Archbishop's question truthfully.

"It was alright." In truth, it really was. Despite the obvious dislike the soldiers had for the Sreng native, they left her alone for the most part. And considering the situation, it was the most Nemian could ask for.

The Archbishop gave a knowing smile in response but did not feel the need to delve any further. Instead, she decided it would be best to get the girl on her way. "It has already been a few weeks since we have started but I no doubt know you are more than capable of catching up. Seteth here," she gestured to the green-haired man, "will take you to class and show you to your quarters. Should you have any questions he as well as I will be here to answer them. I hope that your time here at Garreg Mach Monastery will allow you to grow beyond your expectations and as Archbishop I formally welcome you."

Nemian gave a quick bow of her head. "Thank you, Lady Archbishop."

"Seteth, if you will." Lady Rhea nodded to the man at her side.

"Yes, of course," Seteth responded dutifully.

"And Alois, thank you for escorting her. I'm sure you did wonderfully with first impressions."

From the corner of Nemian's eye, she could see the faint blush on the knight's cheeks. He stuttered from the praise. "I-It was nothing- I mean, it was my pleasure!" He too gave a quick bow.

Lady Rhea smiled, "You are dismissed."

Alois gave another bow and Nemian wondered if the knight had gotten dizzy yet from all the bowing. This Lady Rhea was a very important figure indeed. Seteth was the one to grab her attention, walking toward the doors leading out the cathedral. "Come, Nemian. I shall show you to your personal quarters and then to your classroom.

"Yes," Nemian exclaimed rather hastily as she bowed to the Archbishop once more before turning away to follow her new guide.

"I suppose it would do us some good to point out a few things while we walk." Seteth didn't miss a beat after they stepped out of the cathedral and onto the bridge. "Class is Monday through Friday unless otherwise mentioned. Your professor will fill you in on those details. At the end of each month, each class is assigned a mission directly from the Lady Archbishop herself. That mission varies anywhere from housekeeping to fieldwork." The Last one made Nemian raise her eyebrows, but she didn't think it was a good time to ask questions. "There are three main houses here at Garreg Mach and because of your unique position, we have already placed you in the Blue Lions house. Ah, we'll cut through the mess hall here." Nemian followed as Seteth veered off to the right. Instantly, all sorts of delicious smells invaded her sense. The mess hall was lively with chatter and people just enjoying meals on the numerous tables. The girl could spot the kitchen on the other side of the room behind a long counter. On that counter laid various dishes. There was a line of people at one end with each person taking their turn to pick up a dish of their choice. Seteth noticed the girl eyeing the foods on the table. "There will be time for you to eat after introductions to your class are made. Now come this way." They walked back out to the outdoors and down some steps where to her left she could see a pond. "To your left here is the greenhouse. There you will find all sorts of rare herbs, vegetation, and plants both venomous and not. The greenhouse serves a useful purpose in education as well, so if you have any interests, I suggest you visit and talk to the gardener on your own time. And here," Seteth stopped in front of reasonably sized wooden door, "are your personal quarters. You will find that the other rooms out here house the students of commoner descent. The second floor is where the noble students live. We try not to discriminate here at the monastery, but the families of our noble blooded students insisted rather… persistently." Seteth fished a key from his pocket to unlock the door and opened it wide for both to enter. "It is a modest room. You are more than welcome to decorate as you see fit. We just ask that you do not make any structural changes. Here is your key." The man handed over the key and Nemian pocketed it immediately. "Now, on to the classrooms."

The two walked up the row of dorms. There were so many Nemian had lost count, and these were just the ones on the ground floor. "Since we're here I may as well point out your professor's room. It is this one here to your left. Now I'm sure your professor has office hours where appropriate, but it doesn't hurt to know where to find her should the need arise." They continued their way and rounded a large wall. Laid out before them was a long patch of grass with neatly trimmed trees and brush lining the left. To the right, Nemian could make out three large sets of double doors. As the two walked on to the cobbled path in front of the entrances she could make out banners that hung on each side. "The first one here is the Black Eagle's classroom. Their current student leader is Princess Edlegard von Hresvelg from the Adrestian Empire. The one furthest down," he gestured with a hand, "is the Golden Deer classroom whose leader is Claude von Riegan, heir of the Leicester Alliance. Here," they stopped in front of the middle set of doors. The banners on the side were of a blue with a beautiful stitch of a lion on both, "is the Blue Lion classroom. We'll be interrupting the middle of class so please be on your best behavior."

Nemian gave a purse of her lips. Seteth's request being one that touched her nerves just the slightest like he had expected her to act like some crazy wild child. The man opened the doors and Nemian could see students seated on both sides. The Professor at the front was pointing to a chalk drawing on the green board. "Please excuse the interruption," Seteth announced. He paused for a moment to allow the professor to turn to his attention and made his way up the aisle. Nemian took a couple of hesitant steps but fell in line right behind the green-haired man. The girl could feel herself shrink just the slightest. Eyes were watching her every move, some curious, some annoyed, some confused, and one pair wide with shock. "Forgive the intrusion, professor. I would like to introduce your new student as of today." The professor whom Seteth had addressed nodded her head and stepped aside for the two guests. Nemian took a moment to look at her new professor. She stood a few inches above her, with a stance that spoke assuredness, confidence, and wisdom. Her blueish hair flowed just past her shoulders in a messily, half-hazard cut, but the look seemed to work for her. Her attire was interesting, made up of leather, stockings, pieces of armor, and a gray cape with open sleeves. This one knew how to handle herself, Nemian thought. Everything about her new professor seemed fine until her gaze fell upon her eyes. The girl was a bit disturbed by how they looked. It was like staring into an empty void of steel blue. No emotion could be read as her professor returned the gaze. The two locked eyes for a moment before Seteth cleared his throat. "Ahem, would you please introduce yourself to the class?" Seteth gestured to the students sitting behind her. Nemian turned around and took one swift look at her new classmates. There was quite a variety of faces, most of them friendly, some stoic. She spotted a red hair boy seated in the back. Her curious eyes turn solemn when she identified who the boy was.

"My name is Nemian Dé Danann. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Nemian gave a quick bow of her head and turned back to Seteth and her professor. The former gave her a smile of approval while the latter nodded.

"Blue Lions," Seteth began to announce, "Nemian here will your classmate from here on. Please do your best to treat her accordingly. Professor, I leave the rest to you." The professor gave Seteth a bow. The man left with no other words and soon Nemian was left, again, with a bunch of strangers.

"Nemian," the girl turned toward the woman, "please have a seat. Any open spot will do, but don't get too comfortable." Nemian tilted her head in confusion but decided to just do as she was told. The girl walked back towards the back of the classroom and sat in the only empty table at the very end. She slid further onto the bench and turned her head slightly to look at the body occupying the one across the aisle from her. The head of red hair quickly turned away. She saw him focused on his open textbook instead with a look of indifference.

"Congratulations once again on the win at the mock battle of the Eagle and Lion. It was a great learning experience for all of us," the professor said.

"We couldn't have done it without you professor!" Nemian glanced at in the direction of the voice, finding that it came from an orange-haired girl that sat the very front.

"Annette is right. You played a large part," this time a silver-haired boy that sat next to this Annette.

"While I agree with both, it was also the amazing teamwork we were able to execute. None of it would be achievable without every one of us." Nemian didn't recognize the voice but she definitely recognized the boy it came from. Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. The Prince of Faerghus. Behind him was another faintly familiar face, the Fraldarious son. His sharp eyes caught her staring and he glared rather menacingly. Nemian did not react and instead chose to roam her eyes elsewhere. So far, the heirs of two Noble houses and the Prince of Faerghus were here. The realization started to settle in when she noticed who she was surrounded by. All of the students here were probably citizens of the Holy Kingdom meaning, every person in this room was her enemy. Save the professor, maybe.

"It looks like I'll be making some slight adjustments to today's itinerary. Let us all meet at the training grounds in 15. Nemian, please stay behind." The girl remained in her seat as the rest of the class got up with chatter and began making their way out the door, or at least that was what it looked like. Instead, nearly the entire class came to hover around Nemian.

"Hello! My name is Mercedes. It such a pleasure to meet you." A girl with cream-colored hair stuck out her hand in a friendly gesture. Nemian hesitated for a split second before grabbing on and shook it gently.

"The pleasure is mine. I'm Nemian."

"I'm Annette!"

"Ashe."

"My name is Ingrid." One by one, each person introduced their names. During introductions, she could see the Fraldarious boy and the red-headed Gautier heir walk out the classroom. Nemian tried to keep up with associating each name with the face until her eyes fell upon the prince.

"Hello there. I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. And the one next to me is Dedue." Dimitri held out a hand as well but this time Nemian took a moment to ponder the gesture. A part of her was skeptical and hesitant. She knew she shouldn't be shaking hands with her father's enemy, but what good would it do her to make enemies on her first day? Although slightly uncomfortable, Nemian bit back her feelings.

Dimitri began to feel awkward with his hand still hanging in the air. He supposed it was too forward of him, but he saw the girl shake Mercedes's earlier and thought it was appropriate enough to do the same. He was about to retreat his hand when the girl raised her own and took it in a firm grasp.

"A pleasure," she lied curtly. Her tone did not go amiss with the tall, dark, and muscular figure that stood somewhat protectively at the prince's side.

"Training grounds, everyone! I need a moment with Nemian." Nemian took her hand back at the sound of her professor, sighing in relief at the interruption. Her classmates grumbled a bit but receded and made their way out. When everyone but her and the professor remained, she moved to wipe her hand on her leg. The action caught the professor's eye and became curious but didn't comment on it and instead tucked it away in the back of her mind. "Nemian, my name is Byleth and I will be your professor here at Garreg Mach. Before we meet with the others at the training grounds, I want you to tell me a little bit about yourself. Perhaps starting with what sort of fighting experience you may have."

Nemian looked up and realized she was being rude to her professor by sitting so she got up to give her a quick bow. "I have a" Nemian tried to find the right words to describe the amount of battle experience she had, which in no way was meager. Growing up, her father made sure she was trained and always battle-ready. The constant fighting between them and the Kingdom was basically half her life. From the moment she picked up a sword, her father made sure to make use of her especially when the numbers of his army were cut almost in half by the invasion. "A good amount I suppose. My main weapon of choice is this claymore." She half-turned her waist to show the large sword strapped to her back. "I am somewhat proficient at the bow and I do not know any magic."

"I see." Nemian tried to interpret what was going in her professor's head while staring at her face, but of course, with a face like that, she couldn't read anything. "Do you have any experience in mounts?"

"No. My claymore is too big and heavy for me to wield it on a mount. I will rather be on foot, close contact. That sort of stuff. Though I suppose I could use a bow on a mount, I haven't much experience."

"Perhaps we could explore that avenue at a later time. For now, I want you to demonstrate your skills and abilities to me. I have already done this with the rest of the class in order to ascertain and compile a personalized training regimen. Our purpose at the training grounds today is to have you spar with one of your classmates. There, I will examine thoroughly how you move and how you fare against certain abilities." Byleth paused for the information to sink in. Nemian looked back at her with uncertain eyes. "Any questions?"

The girl shook her head, "No, professor."

"Byleth nodded in approval. "Good. Come, we'll walk to the training grounds together."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (DISCLAIMER) I do not own or claim to own any of the Fire Emblem Franchise.
> 
> I may have been struggling with POVs in this one and fight scenes are not my forte D:
> 
> Also, I realized I spelled Fraldarius wrong in my previous chapters. I'll go back and fix it later, oops.

"Gather up, everyone!" The lively chatter died down as Nemian and Byleth entered the training grounds. The space reminded Nemian of some sort of arena. Columns surrounded the open space where light dust and gravel covered the grounds. Beyond the columns, in the shadows, was space for spectators to watch from the sidelines. The training grounds were oddly on an elevated spot of the monastery in its own sort of tower with no ceiling. Such an odd place to have matches in, the girl thought.

"I want you all to continue sparring with the partners I assigned last time. All of you except for," Byleth looked at the students lined up in front of her. "Ingrid and Ashe. The rest of you spread out." Everyone got with their respective partners besides two whom Nemian had remembered from just moments before when half the class hurried to make their introductions. "Nemian," the professor called out. The young girl walked over to the three. "I'm sure you've met Ashe and Ingrid." The professor gestured a hand to each respectively.

"Yes," Nemian nodded her head.

"Good, I will have you start against Ashe. Ashe, please grab your bow."

"Yes, professor." Ashe gave a quick bow before leaving to grab his weapon. The young boy returned seconds later with a wooden bow in his left hand and a quiver of blunt arrows slung across his back.

Byleth gave a quick nod. "You two at opposite ends." The two students looked at each other before making their way across the space with Nemian at one end and Ashe at the other. "Further!" The professor yelled. The two students kept walking further apart until their professor halted them. "Okay! Ashe, I want you to aim as best you can. Try to get three good hits. And Nemian," the girl turned away from her silver-haired opponent back to her professor. "I want you to make your way to Ashe while dodging and deflecting the arrows. Three hits and you're done."

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Ashe yelled from his spot. Nemian only nodded her head, drawing her claymore from behind and getting into stance turning her attention back to Ashe. Both hands gripped the handle of her weapon tightly.

"Begin!"

Ashe grabbed an arrow and quickly shot the first one before Nemian could take her first step. She slid one foot forward anticipating the first attack and swiped the claymore upwards in a diagonal knocking the arrow away. Nemian saw the shock look on the boy's face and took the opportunity to get a few quick steps in.

Ashe shook off his initial shock and grabbed another arrow and aimed for the girl that was quickly making her way towards him. He shot the arrow and without pause, his hand went for another and shot that one as well. Nemian managed to dodge the next one by twisting her body and letting the arrow fly past her. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the second one and sliced the arrow into two pieces. She heard the snap of Ashe's bowstring and knew another one was coming her way. Nemian ran horizontal to avoid it and took a sharp turn toward Ashe once more to close the distance.

Ashe didn't hesitate and fired arrow after arrow. The boy was still not proficient enough and so he took a second or two to get his aim correct before firing. Nemian picked up on that and used those seconds to get closer to her target.

The archer began to breathe heavily as he reached behind to grab another arrow but instead, his hand grasped onto nothing but air. He heard a thud next to him and looked to see that Byleth had placed a barrow of arrows at his side. Ashe took one out and continues his onslaught.

Three arrows were coming her way in quick succession. Nemian did the same thing and dodged the first one while attacking the second, but her reflexes weren't fast enough to knock the third one away allowing the blunt end of the arrow to hit its mark on her left shoulder. The girl grunted but recovered quickly to prepare for the next assault of arrows.

The bow in Ashe's left hand was starting to feel heavy and in a moment of fatigue, his left arm dropped the slightest bit when he shot an arrow. It landed in the dirt a foot away from Nemian. The girl didn't take her eyes off as she took off from her spot, claymore at her side. Alarmed, Ashe attempted to pick up speed but because he was using less time to aim, the arrows seemed to fly right past his opponent.

Nemain heard whizzes of arrows fly past her with some landing in the ground in front of her. The boy was getting sloppy and she took advantage by picking up her pace and started to sprint. Swinging her claymore every other step to deflect the arrows that came too fast to dodge, Nemain did not stop until she was just feet away from the archer.

Ashe gasped when Nemian came within her sword's reach. The girl swung it up and in reflex, he brought his bow up as a shield and closed his eyes tightly. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Ashe slowly opened his eyes to see the glint of the blade as it pointed straight up. The girl stood rooted in her spot with her sword raised above her head. Ashe dropped his arms in relief, and she did the same. "That was sloppy, Ashe." The boy winced, turning to his professor. "But considering the year has only just begun, good job."

Ashe gave a nod of acceptance. "Right. I'll work harder to improve my aim." Byleth nodded in return before returning to Nemian. "You're not that much better, but you seem to move around easily enough despite the weight and size of your claymore. We'll keep going. Ingrid!"

"Yes, professor!" Ingrid jogged over with a lance in hand.

"You're up. Take your positions, you two."

Nemian and Ingrid stood a few feet from each other. Ingrid got into a stance with the tip of her lance pointing at an angle towards the ground. Nemian got a quick read of the golden-haired girl's face and unlike Ashe, she though Ingrid seemed a little more confident. Nemian crouched just a bit and held her claymore at her side, readying it to deflect the first attack.

"Begin!"

Both students charged. Ingrid swung her lance to attack with a sideswipe. Nemian matched her movements and swung her claymore to the front to meet the lance's staff right underneath the blade. Ingrid did not lose her grip but the force from the contact of Nemian's blade was so strong her arms gave way as the black-haired girl forced the lance away. Ingrid jumped back to avoid another swing of her classmate's sword. She felt a gush of air follow the blade as she dodged it by a hair. Recovering, Ingrid took one step to charge with another attack, but Nemian was quick to stop her in her place as she raised the tip of the sword to her nose. Ingrid gasped in shock as she stared down the blade to her new classmate. She managed to catch a quick glimpse of the intensity of Nemian's amber gaze before the swordsman lowered her blade. Ingrid took a deep breath and blinked heavily at how fast she was defeated.

In the distance, Byleth quietly ran through the 6 second battle in her head trying to figure out whether Nemian was taking Ashe seriously with her slow and choppy movements. The woman walked up to the pair, "Thank you, Ingrid." The lancer gave a half-smile, no doubt in disappointment. Byleth grabbed the girl's shoulder in a reassuring squeeze. The gesture seemed to work as Ingrid gave a nod of her head in thanks. "Go ahead and join Ashe." Ingrid walked over to said boy who stood on the sidelines with his mouth still agape.

Nemian waited patiently hear to any feedback from her professor but all she did was stare at her. Her steel-blue gaze was intense, and the young girl could feel herself start to shrink under the scrutiny of her professor's stare. "You did say you were more comfortable with close combat. Perhaps I wasted time having you go up against Ingrid then." Nemian scrunched her eyebrows in question. The professor yelled across the grounds grabbing everyone's attention. "Felix!"

The professor's shout caused Sylvain to stop mid-attack, and the weight of his lance made him stumble out of balance. Felix scoffed at his partner as the redhead was able to ungracefully catch his own fall. "What now," the swordsman mumbled under his breath, turning to the professor. When he made eye contact, she waved him over. Felix smirked, knowing the implication and made his way to the center of the training grounds. Swiping back some loose hairs, Felix sighed as if he was being bothered. "What do you want?"

With a deadpanned face, Byleth tilted her head in Nemian's direction. "I want you to spar with her."

Felix gave a once over at the girl. Unimpressed, he shook his head. "Why not. Beats running circles around that fool," he gestured to Sylvain in the distance.

"I heard that," Sylvain yelled offended.

Ignoring the redhead, Felix walked past Byleth and Nemian to take his position on the field. "Let's stop wasting time."

Having gone uncomfortable at knowing her next opponent, Nemian gave an unsure glace over to her professor. "You want me to fight him, why?"

Byleth crossed her arms. "As of this moment, Felix is the most competent student with the sword. If I am to gauge how good you are, I need to see how you fight against a challenge."

"A challenge?" Nemian looked over at the Fraldarius boy. He stood with arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently. The girl didn't know much about him, but she did know of his father, Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius. When the king of Faerghus led his military campaign in Sreng, the man with blue hair was one of the faces she would never forget. Often seen on the front lines of battle, Rodrigue was a force to be reckoned with. Nothing, no one, could get past him. He was the wall that stopped Nemian's father in his tracks in defending his country.

Nemian had a front seat during that battle despite not being old enough to fight. Even though, she knew for a fact that the second son of Rodrigue Fraldarius wasn't there to observe his father on the battlefield. She wondered how competent he could be knowing he most likely stayed home in the comfort and safety behind huge stone walls while she watched her father's kingdom practically fall. She supposed there was only one way to find out.

The black-haired girl lifted her claymore so that the blade rested on her right shoulder and walked to the opposing side. "About time," she heard him say. Nemian's left hand grabbed the hilt along with her right and brought the sword down to her side with the blade slanted downward and the tip pointing to the ground. Goosebumps peppered her skin in anticipation for this next fight. It was about time she was given the opportunity to let out some steam.

From across the field, Felix got into a stance with his sword at the ready. Dark amber eyes ignite with fire as a smirk found its way on his lips. The Fraldarius heir stared knowingly at the girl with bright amber eyes glowing just as fierce. "Time to put you in your place, Sreng."

The corners of Nemian's mouth lifted into a menacing smile. Of course, the Fraldarius boy would know who she was. Adjusting her grip once more, Nemian accepted the challenge in a voice too soft for him to hear, "We'll see."

"Begin!"

The first clash began in a similar fashion with both swordsmen meeting their blades in the middle. There was a moment of struggle between the two trying to overpower each other but both relented and drew their swords back.

Nemian swung her sword once more and Felix met it with equal strength. From there the two went back and forth. Felix attacking mercilessly with swift moves and Nemian blocking each one while managing to counter his attacks now and then.

The training grounds filled with the sounds of their blades clashing and soon everyone had stopped in their own sparring sessions to watch the two swordsmen fight. "I've seen Felix spar rigorously before, but this is… Something else," Dimitri commented, lowering his lance.

"Yeah, he's breaking a sweat." Sylvain came up behind the prince. The blonde looked back to see an uncharacteristic look on his friend's face. With eyebrows drawn down and eyes squinted slightly in focus, Sylvain was looking serious for once. Feeling a bit perturbed by the sudden change in the atmosphere around his long time friend, Dimitri turned his attention back to the battle with a curious mind.

Instead of pulling back this time Nemian slid her blade down along his towards the hilt. The boy drew his sword back and she took the small opening to quickly pull her claymore back in a horizontal movement and thrust it in a jab.

Felix twisted his torso to avoid it and ducked low to come up and slash at her midsection, but she was quick to maneuver her sword, and, to his surprise, she brought it straight down hard into the ground. The tip of the blade sank into the crevice between the concrete tiles, her sword effectively blocking his strike.

Without struggle, Nemian pulled her claymore from the ground and raised it high above her head. With a quick adjustment of her hands on the hilt, she rotated the blade up and with a roar brought it down in a powerful swing.

Felix dodge rolled to the side and got up just in time to see the edge of Nemian's sword clash into the ground making rubble of the tiles underneath. His eyes widened in shock as he shouted in surprised anger, "Are you crazy?"

Nemian's breaths came out in pants, "What's wrong, Fraldarius?" Standing straight, she pulled her claymore up from the ground, dust and broken pieces of concrete falling off her blade, and brought it up to rest the flat edge on her shoulder. The feeling of excitement electrified the air around her and Nemian found that she couldn't hold back a smile, "Can't handle a Sreng?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (DISCLAIMER) I do not own or claim to own any of the Fire Emblem Franchise.

Felix's lips curled into a sneer. Getting into a crouch, the swordsman brought his sword down to his side parallel to its sheath and in a flash, he took one step pulling his sword forward as if unsheathing and slashed at the girl causing her to take a step back to avoid the attack. With his sword high in the air, Felix lifted his left hand to grasp the handle with both hands to bring his blade down.

Nemian blocked the second attack by bringing her claymore to the front. Using a burst of strength, she was able to push the Fraldarius boy back and reposition for the next attack. He came at her once more with swift strikes one after another. His moves were quick and Nemian found it hard just to keep up with blocking each one. She had to admit that he had the speed advantage with handling a slimmer and lighter sword, but she noticed his attacks lacked in strength. If I can just get one strike in, Nemian blocked one aimed for her neck. She took the split second to push his blade away with her sword to create some room between them for one of her own.

"Professor," Dimitri cried. "That was too close of a call. Shouldn't you stop this before it gets dangerous?"

Without looking at the young prince that appeared at her side, Byleth moved a hand to rest on the hilt of her sword. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to stop it before it comes to that."

The young prince gave his professor a look of worry but decided to trust her and turned his attention back to the battle ahead. The girl, Dimitri thought, seemed to be a very skilled fighter. Despite Felix having a huge advantage of speed, she was able to block all of his attacks and the prince knew firsthand for that to be a difficult task. Is she from the kingdom¸ he wondered?

Sylvain looked on, his face showing uninterest, but his mind wholly focused on the Sreng girl. The young Gautier heir knew who she was the moment she stepped foot inside their classroom. He was even expecting her. When Sylvain received a letter from his father the week before, he was thrown into a mix of emotions, confusion, annoyance, frustration, anger.

"… It is better for her to be as far from Sreng as possible. Moving the girl to Garreg Mach Monastery would be in the best interest of the kingdom and I have already contacted the Archbishop about her arrival. You are to be her charge until further notice. Be cautious, my son, and do not let her out of your sight." Not only were Sylvain's plans of wooing every beautiful girl in the monastery ruined, but now he was stuck babysitting one of his mortal enemies.

The redhead gave a huff of approval when he watched the Sreng girl deflect another attack with that massive sword of hers. Just from looking at the size of the thing, Sylvain knew it had to be a workout just to swing it around let alone maneuvering it around in close combat. He had to give it to her, he was slightly impressed.

Nemian misjudged a move and her opponent managed to slip through her defenses and hit her on the chest with the pommel of his sword. The girl stumbled back but used her claymore's weight to regain her balance. Felix didn't give her a chance to recover and went for her throat once again only to have her duck, he jumped back before she could counter with an upward slash. Without missing a beat, the two swordsmen took one step toward each other for momentum, posed to bat their blades at each other's necks. And like mirror images, both fighters roared as they swung to decapitate.

There were gasps and shouts of horror when quick feet ran over to the battle. A loud clang rang throughout the training grounds when Byleth and Sylvain somehow got between the two and blocked the attacks with their sword and lance respectively.

Felix didn't seem surprised when he gazed into his professor's eyes, panting harshly from exhaustion. After a moment, the Fraldarius heir relaxed his arms and pulled his sword back. Byleth did the same, sheathing hers.

Nemian stared fiercely into bright amber eyes, not unlike her own, her face tense from the battle. She gritted her teeth in almost extreme displeasure when Sylvain matched her gaze in what looked like equal disgust. The grinding of metal between their weapons was the only indication of their silent struggle to overpower but eventually, Sylvain pushed back with his lance so hard it knocked the sword out of her hands. The claymore clattered loudly against the concrete as it slid to a stop at the edge of the training grounds. Nemian didn't look bothered by the treatment of her sword and instead, her gaze turned dark. Sylvain did no break eye contact when he rested his lance back at his side.

Byleth turned a curious eye in their direction and could practically feel the hatred emanating from her two students. She took a quick glance at the Sreng girl and saw something almost feral in the way she looked at Sylvain. Byleth turned to him and ask in a sort of authoritative manner, "What's wrong?"

Like a switch, Sylvain's face lit up back to its usual playful look with his smile that did not reach his eyes. "Nothing, professor. Why do you ask?" Byleth studied his face for a second before walking away and giving him a side-eye. "Hey, what's that look for," he shouted after her playfully.

After Sylvain had turned his back on her and followed their professor to the sidelines, Nemian took a deep breath with her gaze falling to the ground. All the tension left her face as she took the time to regain her breath and then walked over to retrieve her claymore. She inspected the blade briefly before returning it to the back-scabbard.

"Nemian," the professor called, beckoning with her hand.

The girl walked over where she was greeted with applause and cheer. Nemian was taken aback when her classmates came up to her to pat her on the back or express their excitement, all but three. Felix stood at the back of the group with his arms crossed, a look of boredom adorned his sharp features. Next to him, the tall, dark-skinned man named Dedue stood stoically giving nothing away in his sturdy posture. And then Sylvain, whose attention seemed to be somewhere else as he looked to the pegasi flying above.

"Amazing job!"

"How did you do that?"

"That was utterly brilliant!"

"You're so good!"

"That was such a captivating show!"

Her classmates were showering her with praise and Nemian found it hard to keep up. "Uhh, thank you. Uhm, years of training, I guess? No no, not really." The red on her cheeks were becoming more apparent with each compliment. She was not used to this kind of positive feedback and it flustered her, to say the least.

"The both of you did well." The students quieted down and turned to their professor. Byleth clapped a hand, "Let's break for lunch and meet back in the classroom in an hour." More cheers were exclaimed as students rushed toward the exit.

"Nemian?"

The said girl turned her head to the sound of her name to find Annette standing behind her with Mercedes. "Yes," she responded.

"Merci and I were wondering if you would like to have lunch with us," Annette said with a perkiness in her voice.

"That is if you don't already have plans to eat with someone else," Mercedes added.

Nemian took a second to blink back her shock. "No, no I don't. It would be my pleasure."

Annette hopped in joy, clapping her hands. "Great! Let's go before all the good stuff is gone."

The girls arrived at the mess hall to find it filled with other students. Nemian looked around while keeping pace behind her classmates. Annette and Mercedes led her to the end of a long line reaching halfway down the hall. "Aw, shucks. Looks like everyone else is on lunch break, too."

"Don't worry, Annie. I'm sure the line will go quickly as it usually does." Mercedes patted a reassuring hand on the girl. "Nemian, I think you'll find that the food at the monastery is absolutely to die for," the young girl clapped her hands together in a please manner.

"Is that so?"

"Oh yes," Annette piped up. "There's saghert and cream, sweet bun trio, pheasant roast with berry sauce, and ooo peach sorbet," the orange-haired girl counted on her fingertips.

"Annie! You're just listing your favorites."

Annette giggled, bringing up a dainty hand to politely cover her mouth. "What about you, Nemian? What sort of dishes do you like?"

Nemian blinked a couple of times trying to sort out what dishes she enjoyed back in her hometown. "Uh, well, where I come from, we eat a lot of game and fish. Stews are nice, I guess." The Sreng girl itched nervously at her chin. She looked at the two girls in front of her to find them giving her strange looks. "What?"

"Stews are nice and all, but I think what Annie was asking is what's really something you enjoy? What do you look forward to?"

"Yeah," Annette exclaimed. "What tastes so good it gets you dancing?"

Now it was Nemian's turn to give them weird looks. "Dancing? I don't think food has made me dance before, but I think I know what you're implying. I suppose," the girl took a moment to think about whatever luxuries were considered when living in the far north. The Sreng diet consisted heavily of dried and salted meats. A few vegetables here and there that are able to survive the extreme winters and even fewer fruits during the short periods of warm weather. "Berries."

"Berries? Well, what kind," Mercedes asked.

"Any kind. Where I live-lived," Nemian corrected, "our winters are very long, and we only get a few moons of warm weather throughout the year. The berries that grow on the land only come up during then."

"The north you say." Mercedes lifted a finger to her chin in thought.

"Oh, where are you from, exactly," Annette asked, taking the words right from her friend's thoughts.

Slightly alarmed, Nemian stuttered trying to think of an answer that wouldn't throw herself completely out there. "I, uh, well I-,"

"Hey there, ladies. Mind if I budge?"

Annoyed, Annette turned around to see Sylvain standing behind her, his signature smirk plastered on his face. "Uhh, no. To the back of the line for you, mister."

"Aww, c'mon! The line is way too long and I'm so hungry," Sylvain hunched over, wrapping his arms around his stomach for emphasis, "I did a lot today."

Mercedes giggled behind a closed fist, "We all worked hard today."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Merci," Annette placed both of her hands on her hips. "If anyone here was working hard, then it would be Nemian aaaand probably Felix. But as far as I can tell you stood there watching like the rest of us so no, you cannot budge."

Nemian was about to refuse the statement when Sylvain groaned in defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll go to the back." The Gautier heir straightened up and walked past the girls to the end of the line. Nemian's eyes followed him and caught on to his steel gaze as his playful nature took an immediate 180 and she was greeted with a hard look. Unperturbed, she returned her attention to the girls, and contently listened to their conversation as they moved up the line.

"Annie and I attended the Royal School of Sorcery. Both of us have an affinity for the magical arts, though we practice different kinds."

This piqued Nemian's interest. Not one gifted for the arts, the young Sreng always found the topic interesting. It was an art that was hard for her to grasp and she was intrigued to know that she sat with two students that seemed to excel in a craft she knew so little of. "What kinds," she asked between bites of her fish sandwich.

"A lot of my studies focus on Reason, specifically black magic, and Merci here practices faith magic. "

"I dabble in a bit of black magic as well, but Annie is great at both Reason and Faith."

"Merci, stop. That's not true," Annette blushed at the sudden compliment.

"What do you mean? You are skilled, anyone can see that."

Nemian smiled at two sitting across from her. Annette and Mercedes had a bond that seemed to go pretty deep and it showed in how they talked to one another and about each other. It brought a warm feeling to the Sreng girl knowing there were kind people here at Garreg Mach. "The two of you are close," she stated.

The two girls paused in their side conversation to look at Nemian, "You got that right! Merci and I are best friends!"

Lunch came to an end and the hour was coming to a close. Nemian was already seated at the very back where she was earlier, waiting for the rest of her classmates to file in. Mercedes and Annette had wanted her to join them up front but seeing that a few others had already taken up the space Nemian had assured them she was fine in the back and would sit next to them tomorrow.

"Bring your attention to the board. We will be going over some authority points," the professor began writing on the chalkboard, spelling out topics for the lecture.

Nemian looked around her table and was alarmed when she realized she had no supplies to write on. There were some textbooks neatly lined up and even a small inkwell with a quill pen, but no paper. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched her nose in slight frustration with herself. Stupid, stupid!

"Hey," a voice whispered, breaking Nemian from her chastising thoughts. The girl opened her eyes to find Ashe slide a piece of paper on her table. She looked down in surprise and back up at her green-eyed classmate. Ashe nodded at the piece of parchment encouraging her to take it. The girl grabbed the corner and sheepishly mouth a silent thank you. Ashe blushed, nodding his head quickly and turned back around in his seat.

Nemian was a bit confused by his reaction but felt grateful, nevertheless, and made a quick reminder in her mind to repay her classmate's kindness. With renewed anticipation, the girl took the quill from the inkwell, gently dabbing the excess ink on the corner of the paper and began writing,

"Authority: Gambit Combat."


	5. Chapter 5

(DISCLAIMER) I do not own or claim to own any of the Fire Emblem Franchise.

"Before you go, I need to assign end of the week duties," Byleth shuffled some papers to place on her desk and grabbed a clipboard with a checklist attached. "This week I have Mercedes and Ingrid on air patrol, Dedue and Ashe on weeding duty, and Sylvain with…" The young professor scanned down the list to see who was next in line for after school tasks when an idea came to her. "Ah, Nemian. You two will have stable duty."

Nemian perked up at the sound of her name but her mood was immediately shot down when she discovered who she would be working with. The girl chanced a glance to the redhead across the aisle to see his reaction, but his face was hidden. His head bowed down, doodling over his notes as if he didn't hear the professor.

"Sylvain," the professor called, seeing his dismissive behavior.

The boy snapped his head up, "Yes, professor?"

"You, Nemian, stable duty."

"Uhh," Sylvain turned his head slightly to Nemian and the two made spit second eye contact before he nodded, "Right."

"Then class is dismissed. Dimitri," the professor turned her gaze to the prince sitting in front of her. "I have a few things to go over with you. Please stay behind."

"Y-yes, professor," the prince exclaimed.

"Sylvain," Byleth caught the redhead before he could slink out of the classroom. The sudden hunch in his shoulders at the call of his name made it seem like he was purposefully trying to sneak away. "Show Nemian to the stables. I don't think she's had a chance to see them yet."

The boy turned to look at Nemian still seated on the bench, his jaw tight and his lips pursed. She looked up at him with a flat stare and watched him walk out the class doors with him muttering under his breath, "Hurry up."

Quickly, the girl shoved her notebooks into the satchel that hung across her chest and moved to catch up with the Gautier heir.

Byleth and Dimitri watched the unusual scene before them, both a bit perturbed by Sylvain's reactions. "Do you know what that was all about," Byleth asked, bending over a bit too close to Dimitri.

The prince blushed at the sudden closeness, his words stammering, "N-n-no, I d-don't, professor."

Byleth leaned back to rest against her giant oak desk, crossing her arms in an inquisitive gesture.

"B-but if I may," the prince grabbed her attention once and she turned to look at her student, "Sylvain was acting a bit strange during Felix's spar with Nemian. He had a sort of serious look I hadn't seen before."

Byleth stood silent without giving anything away, her eyes trained on the doors of the classroom left wide open. She would have to make it a point to visit Seteth sometime later.

The walk to the stables was silent. Nemian carefully watched Sylvain from behind trying to get a read on his body movement. So far, she had only been able to decipher tension as it was thick in the air as well.

The cobbled stones of the path soon turned into dirt and gravel. Dust kicked up in their steps as they rounded a corner. Nemian was greeted with a long line of numerous stalls, some of them occupied as seen from the horses peeking over the stable doors. There was already a handful full of other students tending to some horses and cleaning out their stalls. All of the faces she did not recognize, They must be from the other classes.

"Are you coming?" Nemian's attention was brought back to the redhead by his curt tone. He shot her a look of annoyance with his sharp eyes before reaching for the handle on one of the doors. It opened with a rusted squeal and the horse occupying the stall gave a small whinny. "Shh, it's okay," Sylvain hushed, trying to calm the creature down.

Nemian observed from her spot outside the stall, watching him pet the animal with a sort of serene look on his face. The sight made her disgusted with him even more. His 180 act was jarring.

"Atta girl, c'mon." Sylvain was working on putting the saddle on the horse and walked it out of the stall once done. Nemian stood in silence still not sure what was expected of her for stable duty.

"Here," the girl looked down at the object Sylvain had offered her, a stable broom. The girl lifted a hand and he slapped the handle on it. She looked down at the broom and back up to the boy with an irritating look. "I'm going to take her out for a quick walk. Clean out the stable while I'm gone. I'll help you once I get back." Sylvain made a last adjustment to the saddle and pulled himself up to mount.

"You're just going to leave me here to clean by myself," Nemian asked in disbelief.

The Gautier heir looked down his nose at her, the haughty look on his face making the girl scowl. "I said I'll help you when I get back." Before Nemian could get in another word, Sylvain snapped the reins of the horse and took off leaving the girl to cough in the cloud of dust.

"Well, that wasn't very kind of him."

Nemian snapped her head around although a bit too fast and winced at the crick in her neck, "Ouch."

"Sorry, there! Didn't mean to sneak up on you."

The Sreng native looked up to see a tall man. He had soft orange hair with eyes to match and sharp features like ones associated with nobility. She noticed how kept he was with his outer appearance, all the buttons on his uniform in place with a nice cravat tucked into his collar. His hair even reflected how intact everything about him was with every hair in its place.

"You are?" Nemian began.

"My apologies! I am Ferdinand von Aegir. Heir to House Aegir of the Adrestian Empire." Ferdinand bowed in a flamboyant manner with arms making wide gestures as one rested over his chest and the other held out behind him. Nemian leaned back not expecting such a display and before she could take a step back the boy reached up to grab her left hand. "And you are?" Ferdinand brought her knuckles to brush against his lips. Although a bit weirded out, the gesture wasn't unfamiliar to the Sreng girl. Coming from a royal background, Nemian was used to the style of greeting even though she wasn't expecting any of that kind of treatment here at Garreg Mach.

Nemian looked at Ferdinand to see him staring at her expectantly, waiting for a reply. "Nemian Dé Danann."

"Nemian," Ferdinand let go of her hand and stood up straight, "A pleasure to meet you. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are the new student in the Blue Lions house."

The shock was apparent on her face as she absentmindedly rubbed the hand Ferdinand had kissed. "Yes, how did you know?"

The orange head smirked, "If you do not already know, you will find that word at Garreg Mach Monastery travels fast."

"Is that so," Nemian muttered.

"Anyway, I see that your partner has abandoned you, not that I am surprised."

The girl deflated just bit at coming back to the situation at hand. "He's not planning on coming back, is he?"

"Knowing him, most likely not."

Nemian rolled her eyes and sighed deeply, taking the broom in both hands, "Well then, I guess I better get started if I want to be able to finish in time. It was nice meeting you, Ferdinand." Without waiting for the boy to leave, Nemian walked to one corner of the stall and began sweeping.

"Let me help. I am done with my duties for the day, I can lend a hand."

"Oh no. Nonono, I got this." As if to prove her point, Nemian began sweeping faster but all it did was conjure up a cloud of dust.

"Ack!" Ferdinand coughed, waving his hands in an attempt to fan the dust over. "You are only making it worse!"

"Oh!" Nemian stopped sweeping immediately as her face grimaced.

"Have you even cleaned out a stable before?"

"Uhh, no not exactly."

"Here, give me that," Ferdinand grabbed the broom from Nemian, but the girl held on tightly. He gave another tug and this time she let go albeit reluctantly. "Grab the pitchfork. You are supposed to use it to remove any manure and wet hay first before we get to sweeping."

"Right," Nemian went to the nearby wall where various tools hung and grabbed the pitchfork.

"Trade you," Ferdinand asked, holding out the broom to swap with the girl. Nemian took the broom and stood on standby. Ferdinand saw and couldn't help but chuckle, She seems pretty clueless. Must come from nobility. "There is a wheelbarrow across the yard. Mind grabbing that so I can move this onto it?" The young man pointed to which Nemian followed and spotted a wheelbarrow underneath a tree.

As quick as she could, Nemian came back with the wheelbarrow to find that Ferdinand already had a pile of soiled hay ready to go. "Now grab a pitchfork and help me load this up. We got a ways to go."

"Right," the Sreng girl exclaimed. She jogged over to the wall once more to grab another pitchfork and began loading the wheelbarrow with gusto.

Ferdinand turned around to hide a smirk, amused by the girl's behavior. Such a weird girl.

Ferdinand dusted his hands together, "That is about it. I think we did a great job." The sun had begun to set and the two had finally finished cleaning the stable. "Though it strangely took us longer than I would have thought." Nemian kept overfilling the wheelbarrow in an attempt to reduce the number of trips to drop off at the manure pile, but in doing so caused the contents to fall off on her way there making Nemian spend even more time cleaning it back up.

"That's my bad. I ended up making more work for myself," the young woman swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. "I know next time to not pile up the hay so high."

Ferdinand huffed out a chuckle, "I have to say, I was a bit surprised."

Nemian raised a brow, "About what?"

"I assume you come from some noble background. Usually, most noble kids are taught equestrianism from a young age, and in turn," Ferdinand gestured a hand toward the stable, "know their way around a stable."

Nemian felt her body tense up. Ferdinand seemed like he was about to tread on territory she wasn't ready to explain yet. "What makes you think I'm of noble blood?"

"Well, for one thing, you did not shy away when I kissed your hand in greeting." Ferdinand glanced down when he saw Nemian fold her hands in front of her. "It makes me think that it must be a common gesture for you. Most girls that are not used to it tend to get a little overly excited." He gave her a wink and Nemian visibly shuttered.

"You've deducted my noble blood on just that?"

"Well, it is the way you carry yourself too. You have got a strong posture and a sort of hard look to your face when you think no one is watching."

"Hard look?"

"Yes, like you are looking down on people."

The Sreng girl's brows shot up at that, "Huh, that never occurred to me."

"It is not a terrible thing," Ferdinand was quick to defend. "It is just something you come to notice when you are around a huge group of people from the commoner and noble classes. Your stable partner, Sylvain, for example. You could tell by his aloof, cocky, and flirty attitude that he comes from a pretty well-known family— if you have not figured it out already."

The girl rolled her eyes, sour thoughts of her absent partner coming back to her mind, "Oh I know."

"Speaking of flirty," Ferdinand took a step toward Nemian, his finger and thumb on his chin as if in thought while trying to examine her face. The girl leaned back to keep their distance, uncomfortable at the sudden intrusion of her personal space. "I am a little surprised Sylvain was not flirting with you. Normally, he is trying to bark up every single pretty lady he sees and by looking at you, you are nothing short of beauty."

Nemian felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. Growing up around men most of her life, she did not receive many compliments pertaining to her beauty. Perhaps from a handmaiden or two, but she never put much stock into it as everything at the castle was a formality. Not really knowing how to react, Nemian found herself stuttering much to her embarrassment, "I-I am not much to look at, th-though I appreciate the comment."

Ferdinand smirked at the girl's reaction finding a small sense of satisfaction in making her blush. It was then the two heard trotting and turned to see Sylvain ride up to the stable. Nemian's demeanor changed from something of light heart to a scowl while looking at the Gautier's face.

Sylvain turned his initially confused glance from seeing Ferdinand but mimicked Nemian's right back at her as he pulled his mount into a stop. "Strange seeing you here, Ferdinand. Finding opportunities to flirt instead of doing your duties," He playfully asked, pulling up the façade that has now been so ingrained in his being.

"Actually, I was helping out your partner here since you decided that galloping off into the sunset was more important."

This drew Sylvain's attention and he faced Nemian with a hard stare, "You asked him for help? I said I would come back to help you."

The young girl crossed her arms, "You were gone for two hours."

"And your point?"

"Okay, okay. It was no big deal," Ferdinand cut in practically feeling the tension between the two students. "I was the one that offered. I thought maybe she could use some help being new to the monastery and all."

Sylvain moved dead eyes over to his orange-head peer and sighed. Locking up the stable door, the Gautier heir then clapped a hand on Ferdinand's shoulder, "Thanks for the help. Since there's nothing else, I'm out." Without giving Nemian so much as a glance he began walking away.

Nemian's eyes followed Sylvain with a glare until he disappeared around the corner.

"He seems to be in a mood today," Ferdinand placed a fist under his chin in thought.

Nemian didn't respond to his comment and instead reached out a hand to her helpful peer. "Thank you, Ferdinand, for your help."

The young Aegir smiled and took her hand in a firm shake, "It was a pleasure meeting and getting to know you, Nemian. I hope we will run into each other again soon."

Forgetting all the frustration revolving around her mortal enemy, Nemian was able to relax again upon hearing the warm sentiment. She returned his smile with a genuine one of her own, "Likewise."

"She was sent here by Margrave Gautier. According to past communications, there was a recent transgression between the kingdom of Sreng and Faerghus. Nemian is serving as a sort of ambassador by staying with the Gautier, but the Margrave found it more suitable to have her here."

"An ambassador?" Byleth asked, clearly not convinced by the tone in her voice.

"Well," Seteth turned to look at Rhea deciding whether he should continue, but the Archbishop raised a hand to silence him.

"Nemian was sent here as a ward of the Margrave. The king of Sreng was asked to offer her as collateral to guarantee his obedience." Although slightly, Rhea winced thinking what she said could have been relayed more delicately. "When we were informed about the situation after the Margrave inquired about sending her here, we saw it as an opportunity to shelter her. One as young as Nemian does not deserve to live trapped in a place where there is nothing but hatred. And so, we gladly accepted and sent for her immediately. The role of charge has changed to Sylvain officially by the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, but I consider myself responsible for her here at the monastery."

"So, in the simplest of terms, you are babysitting a hostage of the Margrave Gautier?" Byleth questioned with a raise of her brow.

"It is not as simple as that! It is a much delicate matter that demands sensitivity," Seteth was quick to defend Rhea, letting his emotions get the best of him.

"Seteth, please," Rhea raised her hand once more to silence him. The second-in-command acquiesced and stood back from the conversation. "Seteth is right. This is a sensitive matter and we must treat it delicately. I don't have jurisdiction over how long she stays, but I hope that as long as nothing comes to the Margrave's attention that she will be able to remain for as long as she likes."

"Because it's a political matter your hands are tied and there isn't much you can do."

Rhea's eyes turned downcast, a wrinkle between her brows, "That is correct. The most we can do is to provide a safe space and maybe even prepare her for whatever it is to come once she is outside these walls. Professor," Rhea gently grabbed Byleth's hand with both of hers and gripped it. "I know I have asked a lot of you, but I know no one else as capable. Please, allow her to grow under your institution. A part of me thinks there are similarities between the two of you and I feel like you as well as every one of the Blue Lions have a lot to learn from her. It is the least and the most I can do for one in such a position as her."

After a moment of thought, Byleth clasped her remaining free hand over Rhea's. She watched as the Archbishop responded with a warm smile. "I will do my best," was all she could say.


End file.
